Microsoft previewed its much anticipated mobile operating system calling it Windows Phone 7 Series which could potentially give the iPhone a challenge in the smart phone sector. The smartphone market currently has Windows Mobile platform ranked third behind Blackberry & the iPhone at 18% share. A few of my personal thoughts on whether Windows Phone 7 Series could outclass the iPhone.
Radio
The first thing I noticed while watching the videos was the radio in the Windows Phone 7 Series that comes with the integration of the Zune technology. Now many would question the need for a radio in an iPod with thousands of MP3s at your disposal. The question is with the most innovative apps around on iPhone why has the radio not been integrated so far. Any pointers?
Home Screen
The home screen of a Windows Phone 7 Series device is made up of several tiles (or “hubs”) which in my opinion a smart innovation. Looks like one can accomplish tasks without leaving the home screen and according to the Microsoft press release there will hubs related to People, Games, Music+Video and more. The tiles provide Live updates from Facebook and other social media channels which just adds up for a seamless interaction with the device. What’s more, users will be able to create tiles of their contacts to receive live updates. On the other hand as compared with the current HTC HD2 home screen interface, the iPhone still looks outdated with its glossy 4×4 square app icons for the home screen. Mac fans may differ with my point of view but honestly the dynamics of the smartphone UI (may I add touch-screen) market is ever-changing and Apple needs to rethink its UI strategy for iPhone. Also the advantage lies with Microsoft which provides the device manufacturers the freedom to build innovative applications with the Windows Phone 7 Series platform — the TouchFlo, TouchFlo 3D and the Sense UI technologies from HTC are an outcome of this arrangement that provide a an enhanced user-experience. Apple does not do that rather it has released the iPhone OS SDK to the developer community and left it upon their discretion to innovate, create and sell apps via its iTunes App Store. Indeed the apps have been the backbone for the iPhone/iPod Touch products. It’s a win-win situation for both Apple and Microsoft in that sense.
Bing+Games
All Windows Phone 7 Series devices will come with a dedicated search button with (not surprisingly) Bing as the default search engine. Microsoft will also integrate XBOX Live into Windows Phone 7 Series for serious gamers and Microsoft Office for enterprise use. There’s also discussion about Windows 7 support which is missing currently that will complete the spectrum – from PC to cloud computing. Noting the comparison and the features one can say that the expectations from Apple have only gone to a new level. As for me, I am waiting for the launch of Windows Phone 7 Series this Christmas.
